


In Memoriam

by sixbeforelunch



Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Abydos, Future Fic, Gen, Team
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2007-05-02
Updated: 2007-05-02
Packaged: 2017-10-23 12:17:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 859
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/250207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sixbeforelunch/pseuds/sixbeforelunch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Daniel presents his first paper after the Stargate program goes public.</p>
            </blockquote>





	In Memoriam

The auditorium was, unsurprisingly, mobbed, and security was tight the way it always was at events like this. Fortunately, Jack managed to slip through the check points pretty quickly, thanks to his charm and wit. Or maybe it had more to do with his Air Force ID.

He found Mitchell and Carter and Teal'c hiding in a corner, forming a protective three-person huddle that effectively excluded anyone who came up to talk to them. There were several plain clothes bodyguards standing near by, failing miserably at being inconspicuous. Mitchell glanced up when he saw Jack approach and shifted slightly so that Jack could join the group.

"How bad?" Jack asked.

"The crowd, or Daniel?" Carter said.

Jack grinned. "Both."

"The crowd isn't bad. We've only had a few..."

"Fanboys?" Jack suggested.

Carter smiled. "Enthusiastic people. It's mostly academics and a lot of our own people, and security is pretty tight." She gestured to the bodyguards. They were sadly necessary. There were a lot of people out there who were obsessed with the current and former members of SG1. "As for Daniel..."

"Vala's in the back, trying to calm him down," Mitchell said.

"You thought Vala was the person for that job?"

Mitchell shrugged. "She was the only person who was willing to go."

Now that Jack could see. "He's really that bad?"

"Daniel Jackson has been most...unnerved by this presentation," Teal'c said. "His presence becomes wearing after several minutes."

"It's a big deal to him," Jack said and everyone nodded.

"It's the first paper he published," Mitchell said. "And the first one he's presenting."

Jack glanced at the news cameras set up in the balcony of the auditorium. Academic presentations weren't usually network news, but then this wasn't your run of the mill paper that was being presented.

"Considering how well his last public presentation went, I think he has a right to be a little nervous," Carter said.

"Oh, I don't think there's any chance of a repeat of that happening," Jack said.

"Better not be," an unmistakable female voice muttered next to him and the huddle shifted again to let Vala in.

"How is he?" Carter asked.

"How do you Earth people put it? Freaking out? I managed to stop him from re-ordering the Power Point slides. Again."

"Poor guy," Carter said.

"Oh, come on, Sam," Mitchell said. "He'll do fine. This is his element. Wait until he gets up on that stage."

"I know. I just want this to go well."

"It is not just Daniel Jackson that you are concerned for."

"No," Sam agreed. "It's not."

Jack glanced at Vala and Mitchell. They didn't quite get it, but then, he didn't expect them to. They hadn't been there, at the beginning. They didn't know how much Daniel's paper meant, not just to Daniel, but to all of them.

"It's starting soon," Carter said when the lights dimmed slightly. Daniel had reserved them seats in the front row. Jack glanced around. He was surprised at the number of SGC personnel that had shown up. Not just people that Daniel worked with, but airmen, sergeants, marines. People that ordinarily wouldn't be caught dead at an academic conference and certainly wouldn't give up their Saturday for one. No, this wasn't about Daniel, not for most of the SGC personnel here. This meant a lot to all of them. Jack hoped Daniel knew that.

The chairman of the something committee walked out and got everyone to sit down. Jack mostly tuned her out. It was five minutes of introductions, followed by thank yous to everyone and their grandmother, and another five minutes of the woman going off on some obsequious ramble about Daniel's various awards and degrees. Daniel's own introduction was thankfully much shorter. A couple of thank yous and that was it.

Jack didn't sit up and pay attention until the first slide appeared on the large screen behind Daniel.

"I told him to use that picture," Vala said proudly and Mitchell shushed her.

Jack stared. The cover slide didn't show the pyramids, or the hieroglyphs, or the city. It was a picture of three people, people whose names Jack didn't know, though he was sure Daniel did. They were seated around a fire, one was an old woman, the other two were a young couple. The young woman was looking into the camera, looking curious. The older woman wasn't looking up from her sewing and the younger man had turned away. Jack wondered when it had been taken. Not on the first trip, certainly. Probably on a later trip, maybe one of the few times Daniel had gone back alone, just to be with the people.

"I'm here today to talk about the first civilization discovered by the Stargate program," Daniel said. His voice was loud and clear. Mitchell had been right, whatever freaking out he'd been doing had ended the second he'd stepped onto the stage. Daniel looked at the picture and Jack was close enough to see the slight shadow that passed over his face, but when he turned back to the crowd, he looked calm. "I'm here today to talk about Abydos."

end


End file.
